You Know It’s A Good Day When There’s A Spaceship Involved.

If there is one thing I tend to strongly dislike when I travel, it’s the super gimmicky, come-stand-in-this-line-because-everyone-else-is-doing-it-and-at-the-end-you’ll-be-rewarded-with-an-exorbitant-bill-to-do/see/taste/hear/smell-something-you-probably-won’t-really-even-enjoy-that-much-anyway-but-hey-at-least-it-was-entertaining type of activities.

I’m not talking about places like Hopdoddy, where people stand in line because the food is phenomenal.

I’m not talking about activities like skydiving, where you pay an exorbitant fee to do something awesome.

I’m talking about the kind of place that sells one thing but advertises another.

The kind of place that has one really great hyped up attraction, but the rest is just meh.

The kind of place that typically has a gift shop full of everyday items like mugs and t-shirts and shot glasses plastered with pictures of itself.

Know what I mean?

Examples include those tiny roadside amusement parks with silly, tourist-attracting themes but crappy rides, or restaurants with over-the-top atmosphere filled with cascading waterfalls and daring fire jugglers but don’t, when it comes down to it, actually serve good food.

Because they don’t have to.

Why should they worry about how the food tastes when they have rainforest sounds or giant guitars or twenty-seven different varieties of ethnic cuisine?

So apparently I’m like the weirdest American in the history of ever because I can’t stand this. Squawking parrots and Jimmy Buffett music are fine and dandy, but if you can’t serve delicious food, don’t call yourself a restaurant.

And it was that kind of place that came to mind when Bec, Maria and I pulled up to The Oasis in Austin, Texas.

It seemed they had everything I’d come to associate with the kind of dining experience I typically dread:

Vast parking lot and oversized building that looks more the size of an industrial factory than a restaurant?

It may have been a bit pricy for what we actually received, but I’m pretty sure we were paying for the view.

Which, incidentally, was worth an extra buck or ten.

Don’t be nervous. It’s just a really long way down.

In the end, it’s still the kind of place that charges $1.00 for extra sour cream and won’t split your bill (except our server was nice and did it anyway). But on a day that’s 78-degrees with cooling winds and warm, warm sun, who really cares?

They host weddings and boast spectacular sunset views over Lake Travis, and the building itself is gorgeous.

Back downstairs, we explored more of the courtyard.

Maria and Bec did some acrobatics out front.

You know. Just for fun.

Bec and I were still amped when we left, so we climbed a small construction mountain and took in the views.

From there was a great view of the restaurant perched on its cliff.

Have you ever had one of those days that just feels perfect? Everything — the weather, the people, the food, the air — comes together in a magical amalgamation of what it feels like to be truly content.

We grasped this feeling with reckless abandon and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in a park near Bec’s house.

“This looks like a good place to digest.”

Oh, hey turtles.

Maria working and me sunburning.

Gettin’ silly.

Best. Tree. Ever.

The thing about this kind of day is that it needs nothing more than to be enjoyed.

No itinerary.

No hurry.

Just follow the signs.

Even when they’re neon.

Katie

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The food definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! The prices were a little steep for what we got, but yes, the view was totally worth it. (And I’m only exaggerating a little on the cost of extra sour cream – it was $0.99!)

What day of the week did you go because it looks pretty empty for a place that is so popular – I’d hit that! Unless you were there at 6 am and you convinced the staff to cook lunch food for your photo shoot??? It looks like a fun place – the view makes it worth it.

I do believe this was mid-afternoon on a Monday. So that would explain why it was so empty. It’s actually a VERY huge facility, so there were plenty of people in the small section of tables they had open, but I’m guessing they open up all of the other decks on weekend evenings or for large events. :) (I WISH I could’ve convinced staff to let me do a private photo shoot with my real camera! I might have to try that next time… even if it has to happen at 6:00 a.m., I think it would be worth it.)

Archiving My Insanity.

Archiving My Insanity.

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